There’s a beautiful thing in the coaching community, where we all strive to share resources. But this inherently creates a problem. What works in one context, doesn’t always work in another. Sam and I are both content creators who always get asked to come up with solutions to various coaching problems and share our thoughts on how coaches can accelerate their teams to new levels. While we love creating content and educating coaches, it must be said that everything we put out always needs to be adapted to the context of the individual coach, team, players and environment. The same could be said for taking things from the professional game, where very few lessons can actually be applied at the youth level. Sam and Rhys dive right into this topic and discuss why everything – from game models, to professional environments, to coaching practices, to language, should always be adapted to fit the players and the context. Follow the show @mastermindsite on social media, and stay tuned for more exclusive interviews coming this month.
SUBSCRIBE VIA ITUNES AND SPOTIFY
GUEST
Sam Holmshaw is the Head of Football Development at Kickabout Academy, the host of @The_SC_Podcast and the Technical Director of @HolmshawAcademy. Rhys describes him as ‘The go-to guy when it comes to game models.’ You can find his website and game model packages at samholmshaw.com/shop/ and follow him on social media @SamHolmshaw_MSc.
HOST
Rhys Desmond is the Founder and CEO of TheMastermindSite.com, a football tactics and analysis website, that specializes in education for coaches, players and fans of the beautiful game. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @desmondrhys and @mastermindsite. Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts to never miss an episode, and visit themastermindsite.com for more information, articles, analyses, coaching education and more!
Music for this episode has been wonderfully provided by Pixabay.
MORE TMS PODCAST INTERVIEWS
MORE PODCASTS FROM TMS
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…
How to coach pressing & the five most common pressing triggers
Pressing was all the rage from the late 2010’s to the early 2020’s. Some of the most successful teams across that period played a “high-pressing” game, including Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. But today, press and possess styles of play have started to die out. Brighton have been the best example of a team…
Matheus Cunha is crazy, but that’s part of his charm
Always playing on the edge, getting in the face of the opponents, and dancing his way through celebrations, Cunha is the fighting spirit that can bring United out of a slump.
The standout U-23 players in the Premier League so far in 2026-27
The Premier League is known for being the most demanding, competitive league in the world. But that has never stopped the world’s best young players from gaining substantial minutes on the field. It’s not just other European leagues where young players can learn their trade before making a big move to one of Europe’s elite.…
Elliot Anderson’s start to life at Manchester City, and what happens next?
If you’ve been living under a rock during this international break from club football, you may have missed that Manchester City have been charged with 114 Premier League financial rule breaches. If the punishment fits the crime, Manchester City will almost certainly be relegated from the league, meaning they will lose all of their strongest…
What we learned from Canada’s friendly wins over Chile and Peru
Canada’s first matches since the World Cup revealed a team with more quality, competition and depth than ever before. Luc De Fougerolles and Nathan Saliba strengthened their claims for automatic starting roles, while Liam Millar and Jacob Shaffelburg continued to impress. The next generation have shown that they’re not waiting around for their opportunity. They’re…
3 Canadian stars making their mark at new clubs
The 2026 summer transfer window was a busy one for Canadians. Just about every one of our national team stars changed clubs – many earning exciting moves to take their careers in new directions.
It’s only September, but it’s gone better than expected for most. Here is how our biggest stars have fared since…
Discover more from TheMastermindSite
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
13 thoughts on “Sam Holmshaw – Why everything in coaching needs to fit your context”